


Killing Me Slowly

by kangaroar



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Cute, Cutesy, Developing Relationship, Drabble, Falling In Love, First Meetings, Flirting, Fluff, Humor, Idiots in Love, Insecurity, Love Confessions, M/M, One Shot, Pre-Relationship, Reincarnation, Smut, Supernatural Elements, Sweet, Teasing, basically sasuke is death and he tries to reap the wrong soul and ends up falling in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:06:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23433631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kangaroar/pseuds/kangaroar
Summary: In which Death also goes by Sasuke, and he mistakenly tries to reap the soul of one unsuspecting idiot named Naruto. Naruto, being the idiot that he is, asks to see him again.
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 12
Kudos: 286





	Killing Me Slowly

**Author's Note:**

> hey! I've been gone a while. this was written a year ago and i'm posting it now bc we're all pretty bored right about now. for those of you that follow me for spideypool i'll try to get back into writing. thanks for ur support through all these years :)

There were only a few times in his life where Naruto could pinpoint an exact moment where his life turned upside down.

One was when he had his first bowl of authentic Japanese ramen at the age of four. Another was when he realized he was gay, at the age of 18. And now, at the age of 21, he was staring Death in the face.

Literally.

He’d woken up in a cold sweat just minutes prior, gasping and propping himself up on his elbows. Vaguely, he’d noticed an unfamiliar weight on his chest and lower abdomen. As he blearily wiped the sleep from his eyes, praying to the high heavens that he wasn’t having another episode of sleep paralysis, he was suddenly able to make out just what that weight was by the moonlight shining through the gap in his curtains.

The figure–unmistakably a man– was crouched on his bed, kneeling so that the majority of his weight was distributed onto Naruto’s torso. Pale skin, dark and angular eyes, and perfectly groomed, arched brows were barely visible from the faint light. Naruto was practically nose to nose with this strange person, and the more he stared, the more he was convinced that the dark eyes had an utterly unnatural tinge of red to them.

“Um…” Naruto stuttered. “Who in the actual fuck are you and what are you doing in my apartment?”

The man blinked at him. It reminded Naruto of an owl. “What is your name?”

“I feel like I should be asking you that question!” Naruto glanced at his door, then at his window. Both were shut and locked. How the hell did this guy even get inside his room?

The man stared at him wordlessly for what felt like an eternity. Then, he backed away slowly, much to Naruto’s relief, and opted to stand by the bed. “It seems, for the first time in six millennia, that I have made a mistake.”

 _Alright, this dude is clearly on drugs or some shit._ Naruto gaped openly, too confused to even feel threatened anymore. “Huh?”

“I was meant to take someone else. It seems that, somehow, you are not the only person on the planet to currently be named something as silly as ‘Naruto.’” The man’s tone dripped of boredom and mild disappointment. His voice was silky smooth, but somehow, Naruto could still hear the gravel of an entity that was much older.

“For the love of god, please tell me what drug you’re on right now, because I am going to need some of that to get me through the next week and a half while I process what the hell is going on here.” Naruto sat up fully, pulling his knees towards his body slightly as he tried to get a good look at the man. He was tall, probably an inch or two taller than Naruto, and he wore what appeared to be a traditional black _haori_. The man’s features were pale, slim, and delicately defined, of distinct East Asian heritage and almost too perfect to be real. Naruto found himself staring just a bit too long.

The man cocked his head. “Do you not know who I am?”

“A crackhead with a lockpick?” Naruto retorted. The sheer shock of the encounter was beginning to wear off, and Naruto found his usual boisterous personality was returning. The man’s eye twitched, imperceptible to most, but Naruto was good at spotting signs of annoyance.

“I am Death.”

Naruto’s jaw dropped, and he had to hold himself back from cackling at the man’s ridiculous claim. “Once again, please let me know where to get ahold of some of those drugs, because you are having a _wild_ trip.”

The man cocked his head. “Do you not believe me?” He shifted his frame slightly, and Naruto would’ve sworn he saw the glint of feathers behind him had he not been utterly and completely convinced that the world’s biggest and most attractive shrooms addict was standing in his bedroom.

“You act like I was supposed to accept that without question.” Naruto couldn’t hold himself back from cracking a grin at how ridiculous the situation was. “Can you tell me your actual name?”

“If you are uncomfortable with Death, I can certainly disclose a name you would likely be more comfortable with.”

Naruto was beginning to get the feeling that he was dealing with something much more complicated than he would’ve liked at four in the morning. He decided to go along with the act. “Which is?” he questioned.

“Sasuke.”

“So… you’re Japanese?” Naruto didn’t really need to know. He just wanted something– anything– to make him stop feeling like maybe this guy really was Death.

“I am not of any nationality in the mortal realm. But, I did choose a Japanese name, since your name is Japanese as well.” Sasuke’s dark eyes bored into Naruto’s, and then Naruto knew for certain that he was either having the most realistic dream of all time, or he was in way over his head.

“Are you really Death?” Naruto’s voice cracked, revealing the sudden fear that had been building in him since the beginning of their conversation.

“Yes. But you needn’t worry; it is not your time yet.”

“Shouldn’t you be out getting the other Naruto then? Isn’t that your job?”

Sasuke’s eyes glittered. “It is. But this is a little more interesting, no?”

“Well, what’s going to happen to other Naruto?”

“He can live another day.”

“Well, I guess as of today I’m a hero then, since I just saved someone’s life.” Naruto cracked a small grin at Sasuke, testing to see if Death had a sense of humor or not. 

“For today. We shall see tomorrow.” The lips didn’t move, but Naruto thought he saw a sparkle in those cavernous eyes.

“Um, what does that mean? What did other Naruto do?” Naruto rolled his eyes, but couldn’t stop a slight chill from running down his time.

Sasuke shrugged. His posture seemed to loosen a bit, and he actually leaned against Naruto’s bedpost. “Nothing. It’s just his time.”

Naruto noted that Sasuke seemed to have relaxed, and that his speech patterns started to mimic his. It was strangely comforting. “When’s my time?” he asked, half joking.

“Not for a while. I assure you that this was all a mistake.” Sasuke’s eyes felt like they were boring into him, almost like they were playing a game of who would look away first.

“So… I won’t see you again for a while?”

“You sound sad about it.” Sasuke tilted his head. “You’re not suicidal, are you?”

“What? No! I–“ Naruto stumbled over his words, trying to find a way to correct himself. “I just wouldn’t mind seeing you again.” _Wow, that sounded bad._

The ghost of a smirk flitted across Sasuke’s statuesque features. “Enamored already, are we?”

Naruto rolled his eyes. “Sympathetic, actually. What good is a pretty face when the only people who get to see it are about to die three seconds later?”

“You’ve seen it, and you’re not about to die.” Sasuke crossed his arms, a strand of hair brushing against his cheek entrapping Naruto’s gaze.

“Sounds like _you_ want to see me again,” Naruto teased, subconsciously crossing his arms as well.

“It wouldn’t be the end of the world, if I did.” Sasuke’s intense gaze made the hairs on the back of Naruto’s hair stand on end.

“Well, wouldn’t it be unprofessional or something? Like, who do you work for?” Was Naruto the one on drugs? This was all too surreal.

“I don’t work for anyone. I just am.”

“I mean, you’ve gotta be pretty busy then, if you’re a one man operation. Lots of people die all the time, right?”

“Correct.” Sasuke’s tone sounded like he was teasing Naruto. The annoyance Naruto felt was reminiscent of a best friend he’d never had. “Lots of people die. I have my ways of getting around that.”

Naruto swallowed. “Are you working right now? Like, as you’re talking to me?”

“Always. But perhaps a little slower. I make time for my own interests.”

 _Oh, shit. Is he flirting?_ Naruto thought. “How often do you make time for stuff like that?” he asked, fully aware of how painfully _interested_ he sounded.

Sasuke shrugged. Naruto _definitely_ heard the slithering of feathers together as his shoulders dropped. “Once in a while. Maybe more.” The piercing gaze turned into more of an appraisal, and Naruto had to bite his tongue to stop his eyes from wandering too far.

“Well, I hate to be taking up so much of your time.” Naruto settled further into his pillows, wondering where this was all going.

“Time is all I have. It’s nice to talk once in a while.” Sasuke straightened and reached for the doorknob, unlocking it. “Goodnight, Naruto. Sorry to trouble you.”

“You can trouble me all you want.” Naruto grinned. “You seem pretty cool for a guy called Death.”

“Hn.” Sasuke opened the door and shut it behind him, and the last thing Naruto remembered before his eyes closed was that Sasuke seemed to have no footsteps.

* * *

Three full weeks had passed since the incident with Sasuke and Naruto was starting to feel pretty pissed about the whole situation. It wasn’t like Death owed him anything, but maybe a text would be nice. Or, whatever primordial deity version there was of a text. Plus, with how omniscient Sasuke made himself out to be, Naruto couldn’t even shower without wondering if he was being watched. He stirred his coffee sullenly, the words of his friend floating in one ear and out the other.

“Um, Naruto?”

His shoulder was bumped roughly, snapping him out of his stupor. “Huh?”

“I’ve been asking you,” Kiba said, rolling his eyes, “if you finished that project yet.”

“Um, for what class?”

Kiba stared at him incredulously. “Are you kidding? It’s like, the one project between us and graduation. What’s wrong with you?”

“I’ve been kind of distracted, and I’m super busy.” Naruto yawned, stirring his coffee some more.

“Doing what? I thought senioritis would’ve hit you harder.”

“No, it has,” Naruto amended. “It’s just some other… stuff.”

“Oooh, what is it?” Kiba put an elbow on the table, leaning forward curiously. “Is it a guy?” he smirked.

Naruto rolled his eyes and let out the most unconvincing “no” in the history of the universe.

“Oh, my God. Are you going to tell me who it is already?”

“It’s… no one you know.” Naruto suddenly felt heat rise up his neck, realizing how crazy he would sound if he were to tell Kiba the truth.

“Well? What’s he look like? What does he do?”

“Um… he’s tall and Japanese and he…. He’s a doctor.” It was the closest thing Naruto could think of to someone who could toy with life and death.

“Sounds like a catch.” Kiba grinned.

“He would be, if he’d fucking text me.” Naruto pulled the spoon out of his coffee and all but threw it across the table.

“How long has it been?”

“Three weeks.”

“Three weeks?!” Kiba’s jaw dropped. “I dunno man, maybe it’s time to cut your losses and move on.”

“To who?” Naruto scoffed. “Some college douchebag who’s probably closeted and has some deep-seated internalized homophobia?”

“Okay, you might be right,” Kiba admitted. “But seriously, dude, it doesn’t sound like he’s interested.”

“I guess you’re right.” Naruto hated to admit it, but he was playing with something that he didn’t understand. Naruto was probably the last thing on Sasuke’s plate, if he was even thinking of him at all. “Anyway, I haven't started it yet. Wanna work on it on Saturday?” he asked, changing the subject.

Kiba stood up and patted Naruto on the shoulder. “See you soon, then. Don’t be too hung up on this guy.”

“I’ll try,” Naruto muttered as he watched Kiba walk away. Kiba was right; Sasuke probably wasn’t worth getting worked up about in a random coffee shop. Probably.

Naruto walked through the rest of the day feeling as though he was a spectator in his own life until his head hit the pillow. He was so caught up in his attachment toward Sasuke that he didn’t have any mental energy left to give to anything else. This had never happened to him; usually he never caught feelings for any of his pursuits, but Sasuke was just… different. Maybe it was how enigmatic he was, or the fact that Sasuke was probably akin to a literal god and looked like one as well. Regardless, Sasuke was charming as hell and Naruto just couldn’t get him out of his head.

Until he was on Naruto’s bed again.

It was so sudden that Naruto didn’t even realize he was there until he caught the reddish glint of Sasuke’s eyes out of the corner of his own. “Dude, what the fuck!” he shouted, practically jumping to the ceiling and clinging there like a spooked cat. “At least say something!”

“I was waiting to see when you would notice me.” Sasuke’s eyes glittered, distinctly warmer than the last time Naruto saw him.

Naruto pushed down the swelling happiness rising within his throat with a wave of anger, barely resisting the urge to be petty towards Sasuke. “You kinda disappeared on me, huh?” he asked, trying to conceal the tremor in his voice.

“I apologize. My perception of the passage of time is a bit different than yours.” Sasuke’s voice sounded sincere, but Naruto was still a little hurt.

“It’s alright. I’ve been pretty busy anyway,” Naruto lied. He felt shame heating his face now that he had gotten his anger out, because he was acting so needy for god knows what reason. He had never been this way before.

“Busy with what?” Sasuke asked. He shifted on the bed so he was sitting cross-legged rather than to the side. Naruto noticed that he was dressed in jeans and some joggers this time, rather than the traditional Japanese garb, and felt a flare of appreciation within him for Sasuke’s attempt to make him feel more comfortable.

“You know, school and stuff. I graduate this year, so I’m just trying to get everything in order.” Naruto had no idea if Sasuke knew what graduations were, or even what universities were.

“I see.” Sasuke leaned forward and Naruto just barely caught himself about to lean forward as well. “I daresay you’re even busier than me.”

Naruto rolled his eyes. “We both know that’s not true, dumbass. What have you been up to lately?”

Sasuke laughed, the deep timbre of his voice sending sparks flying through Naruto’s stomach. “You’re the first person to ever call me a dumbass.”

Naruto swallowed hard, trying to still his racing heart. _Why_ did everything about Sasuke, from his face to his body to his fucking _voice_ , have to be so attractive? “Apparently I’m the first for a lot of stuff.”

“A lot of stuff, huh?” Sasuke was just repeating what Naruto said, but he _swore_ he heard Sasuke’s voice deepen a little. “I’ve been okay. Just the usual.”

“Just the usual?” Naruto repeated, because that was all his brain could muster up. He swore that Sasuke was sitting a little closer now and holy shit, did Sasuke always smell this good, because suddenly blackberries and wood smoke were all that Naruto could smell and the air felt like it was crackling from a lightning storm that wasn’t there and he just _hoped_ that Sasuke couldn’t hear how loud his heart was beating.

“I just couldn’t take the monotony anymore, so I decided to drop by.”

Naruto’s eyes dropped from Sasuke’s lips to his neck and how soft the hair looked that brushed against it. His scent was making Naruto’s head spin and he felt himself leaning forward toward Sasuke. “And what did you want to accomplish by dropping by?”  
“Whatever you’ll let me,” Sasuke breathed, and suddenly he was so close that he was almost nose to nose with Naruto.

Naruto noticed that up close, Sasuke’s eyes weren’t actually black. They were the darkest brown he’d ever seen, but they still glimmered with a light that was nearly red. He could feel his eyelids fluttering shut, anticipating the closing of the gap at any second, but then–

“Any suggestions?” Sasuke pulled away abruptly, the smirk of someone who knew what he was doing playing at his lips.

 _Oh, come on._ “I don’t know,” Naruto said, visibly annoyed. “What do you have in mind?”

“I have a couple things in mind,” Sasuke began, eyes roaming pointedly around Naruto’s figure, “but you deserve respect, especially since you’re upset at me.”

“I’m not upset with you,” Naruto retorted defensively, annoyed at how Sasuke could see right through him as if he was made of glass. “I just want to know what you want from me.”

“I don’t want anything from you.” Sasuke shrugged and Naruto couldn’t help that his eyes followed the line of Sasuke’s neck down to his barely exposed collarbone at the fluid movement. “I exist to serve, and here it’s no different.”

“But _you_ came to see me.”

“You made it clear that you wanted to see me again. In fact, if I recall correctly, you were the one who made the suggestion.”

“So you didn’t want to see me?” Naruto bristled.

“I didn’t say that.” Sasuke’s expression seemed to be a mix of amusement and unexpected compassion.

“Well…” Suddenly, Naruto felt bad for how moody he’d been with Sasuke so far. What was he, a hormonal teenager again? “I don’t want to feel like you’re here to serve me.”

“I don’t want _you_ to feel like you’re serving me.”

“Why would I feel like that?”

Sasuke shrugged again. “I feel like most people would be uncomfortable with the power imbalance. I mean, we’re not even of the same kind.”

Naruto looked at Sasuke carefully. “You don’t feel so different from me.”

“Is that so?” It might’ve been his imagination, but Naruto thought he saw the corners of Sasuke’s lips turn up into the ghost of a genuine smile.

“Do you feel different to me?”

“Of course I do. I live in a completely different world from you.”

Naruto rolled his eyes. “You could tell me you’re another college student here and I’d believe you.”

“Because I can change my appearance.”

“Oh, come on,” Naruto exclaimed, exasperated. “I get that you’re a god or whatever, but when I talk to you– I don’t know, I just feel like we… we have some kind of–“

“Chemistry?” Sasuke finished, smirking at how flustered Naruto was.

“Yes! Chemistry. See? You talk like me.” Naruto smiled at Sasuke, earning a twitch of his lips in response.

“I’m working on it.” Sasuke rested his elbow on his knee, propping his chin up with his hand.

“Well… maybe we should get to know each other a little,” Naruto offered tentatively.

“What would you like to know about me?” Sasuke asked coolly.

“Um… can you spy on people?” Naruto asked, suddenly remembering his shower thoughts from the past few weeks.  
“No. Actually, I’m not sure, but what the living do isn’t my business, so I feel like I owe them their privacy.”

“But would you?” Naruto pressed.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to spy on you, Naruto.”

“I mean, I’ve got nothing to hide.” Naruto waggled his eyebrows playfully and stuck out his tongue, earning another eyeroll from Sasuke.

“What do you study in college?” Sasuke asked. He seemed to be genuinely interested.  
“I’m a computer science major, though I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t know what that is.”

“I don’t.” Sasuke stated simply.

Naruto laughed. “I feel like we’re just worlds apart. Like, I’m asking you about all these supernatural questions and all you get to ask about are these boring ass parts of my regular ass life.”

“I don’t think you’re regular or boring.” It seemed sincere, but Naruto could hardly believe it.

“Come on, Sasuke. Don’t you have other deity friends you can hang out with?”

Sasuke shrugged. “Being Death has a certain stigma attached to it. If you ever meet anyone else like me, it’s not likely that they want to be associated with me, ever.”

A pang went through Naruto’s heart at the hollow words. “Sounds pretty lonely.”

“Not anymore.” Sasuke’s eyes met Naruto’s, and he was suddenly flooded by a sense of what was almost… affection.

“Well, I’m sorry that the one person that you happened upon is this annoying dumbass.” Naruto grinned, flashing his blindingly white teeth at Sasuke.

“Your apology is accepted,” Sasuke murmured, eyes not leaving Naruto’s, “but I’m not sorry that it’s you.”

“Have you ever… done this with anyone else? As Death?”

“Never,” Sasuke whispered, and suddenly he was leaning in again.

Naruto gulped, starting to feel the former electricity coming back between them. “Well, is there anything else you wanna know?”

Sasuke’s hand reached out and his fingers brushed against the collar of Naruto’s shirt, pulling at it gently. Naruto shivered at the cool temperature of Sasuke’s skin against his heated flesh.

“I wanna know what it feels like.”

“What?” Naruto asked, knowing full well what the answer was.

“This.”

With one fluid motion, Sasuke pulled Naruto onto his lap so Naruto was straddling him. His pale fingers snaked into Naruto’s golden locks as he pulled him in for a kiss. Naruto responded enthusiastically, his lips gradually finding a rhythm with Sasuke’s. Naruto slid his hands from Sasuke’s cheek down to his neck, and then slipped under the neck of Sasuke’s hoodie to caress against his back. Naruto reveled in the contrast between the heated temperature of Sasuke’s mouth and the cool quality of his skin elsewhere on his body.

Naruto broke the kiss momentarily. “I thought you had wings,” he said.

“I do.” Sasuke somehow looked even more tantalizing, the saliva on his lips glistening even in the dim lighting as evidence of their passion. “I put them away for today.”

“Next time you should leave them out,” Naruto responded, moving back in to press his lips against Sasuke’s once more.

“I will,” Sasuke breathed, but it was swallowed by Naruto’s ravenous mouth.

Naruto felt Sasuke’s hands begin to creep under his shirt, brushing sensuously across his stomach to wrap around his waist. Sasuke licked at the seam of Naruto’s lips and slipped his tongue inside, making Naruto’s head dizzy with arousal.

“Is this okay?” The panting that accompanied Sasuke’s words, signifying Sasuke’s own gradual loss of control, only aroused Naruto more.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Naruto mumbled, pressing in for more.

Sasuke gradually pulled away from Naruto’s lips and kissed along his cheek, moving down toward his jaw and then his neck. He pulled Naruto’s head back, causing him to gasp, and licked a long trail up Naruto’s throat, interspersed with gentle bites.

“Fuck,” Naruto hissed. “You’re good at this.”

As Sasuke’s mouth attached to the side of Naruto’s neck, his hands withdrew from Naruto’s waist and instead began to unbuckle Naruto’s belt, the soft clinking of the metal the only sound that interrupted Naruto’s heavy breathing. Sasuke slowly unbuttoned and unzipped Naruto’s jeans, then traced the outside of Naruto’s arousal with maddeningly light pressure. Naruto could barely stifle a whimper.

Encouraged by the strangled noise, Sasuke pulled the waistband of Naruto’s boxers away from his waist and reached inside, beginning to stroke up and down slowly. He slowly pulled away from Naruto’s neck, kissing the angry red mark softly, and sought out Naruto’s lips once more. He swallowed all of Naruto’s moans, curses, and sighs until his hand was covered with Naruto’s passion, taking care to extract it without making a mess on Naruto’s clothes.

Naruto slumped forward, trying to catch his breath and resting his chin on Sasuke’s shoulders.

“Fuck, Sasuke,” he whispered. “That was good.”

“It was my pleasure,” Sasuke said softly. “But, I do need to wash my hands.”

“Oh, right,” Naruto laughed breathily. “The bathroom’s in that room.”

Naruto carefully extricated himself from their tangle of limbs and sat back against his headboard, waiting for Sasuke to come back. He’d almost fallen asleep when he felt his bed shake, Sasuke’s warm embrace snaking around him.

“Wait,” Naruto said blearily, trying to sit up. “You still haven’t–“

“Shh,” Sasuke shushed Naruto, pulling him against his chest. “You should rest.”

He was uncharacteristically gentle for someone who collected souls for the afterlife. Naruto’s body fit against Sasuke’s large frame as if they’d been sleeping with each other for centuries, and for a second Naruto was almost sure that they had.

“Naruto” Sasuke asked gently.

“Hmm?” Naruto couldn’t tell how much time had passed.

“I have to go soon.” Sasuke’s fingers brushed against Naruto’s hair.

“Can you wait until I fall asleep?”

“Of course.”

Naruto fought to stay awake, to savor the moment, but before he knew it his consciousness was fading to black.

When he woke up next morning, the only thing left of Sasuke a slight indent in his mattress, and he couldn’t tell if it would have been more or less painful if Sasuke had just left right away.

* * *

Another week passed and Naruto found that he couldn’t get Sasuke out of his head. He couldn’t focus in class, he couldn’t focus when he was with his friends, and Sasuke occupied even his dreams. There were worse things Naruto could obsess about, but the knowledge of just how different their entire existences was was never far back in his mind.

Exactly a week after he’d last seen Sasuke, Sasuke reappeared at the foot of Naruto’s bed as he was getting ready to go to sleep.

“Miss me?” Sasuke smirked.  
“Just a bit,” Naruto rolled his eyes. “Get over here.”

Sasuke stepped forward and kissed Naruto on the forehead and the lips before sitting down in front of him on the bed, assuming his customary cross-legged positions. Naruto noticed the glint of obsidian feathers as he shifted to make himself comfortable.

“You left your wings out,” Naruto grinned.

“I did. They’re quite cozy, in the right circumstances.” Sasuke stretched his wings.

Naruto marveled at the sheer wingspan. “They’re beautiful. They look so soft.”

“Would you like to feel them?”

Naruto nodded excitedly and was rewarded by a small smile from Sasuke. He turned around so that he was sitting facing away from Naruto. Naruto ran his eyes down Sasuke’s figure, noticing the t-shirt that was cut carefully around the protruding structures on Sasuke’s back and the loose-fitting jeans around his waist.

Naruto carefully brushed his hands through the thick, downy feathers on Sasuke’s wings. They were just as plush and soft as he’d imagined. He traced down the center of Sasuke’s back where the wings met each other with a finger, and Sasuke shivered under his touch.

“All you need now is a scythe,” he joked.

Sasuke turned back around, smoothing his feathers back down. “Don’t need one.”

“Wow, you’re so cool, Sasuke,” Naruto drawled sarcastically.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “They just draw that in books so I look more intimidating.”

“I don’t know why, since you’re plenty intimidating already,” Naruto scoffed.

“Might I remind you that the first time you met me you called me a crackhead,” Sasuke uttered. “I don’t think you were very intimidated by me.”

“You’re too cute to be intimidating,” Naruto said, grinning ear to ear.

“I’m six foot four,” Sasuke retorted, annoyed.

“You can be tall and cute.”

“I think your eyesight is going or something, Naruto.”

“Well, come closer so I can see better.”

Sasuke all but purred as he leaned in, closing the gap between the two and resting his hands on Naruto’s jaw. Naruto kissed Sasuke fiercely, laying back and pulling Sasuke forward so Sasuke was on top of Naruto with his hands on either side of Naruto’s face.

“I like this position,” Sasuke smirked.

“It’s pretty compromising,” Naruto whispered, one hand reaching under Sasuke’s shirt to brush against the flat plane of Sasuke’s stomach and another reaching into Sasuke’s jeans for his length.

They continued their nightly ritual until Sasuke’s cheeks were flushed and he was openly panting, struggling to maintain his usually composed countenance. Naruto gasped as Sasuke’s hands practically tore his pants off to reciprocate.

“Sasuke,” Naruto panted. “Wanna fuck?”

“Of course I want to,” Sasuke hissed, legs shaking from Naruto’s ministrations.

Naruto reached for his bedside table as Sasuke’s wet fingers began to travel down lower, keening loudly as Sasuke slipped his fingers inside him to prepare him. Naruto grabbed a strip of unopened condoms and tore one off with his teeth, fumbling to open it while barely keeping it together from the sparks that exploded in his core with every thrust of Sasuke’s fingers.

“I don’t know if we need these, but… they’re here?” Naruto laughed.

Sasuke smirked and took the condom. “Better safe than sorry?”

The minute that Sasuke slipped the condom on and lined up, Naruto was overwhelmed by the heady spinning of his brain. As if he was drunk on Sasuke’s presence, Naruto found it harder and harder to keep his composure as their passion reached a frenzy. Moans slipped through his lips uncontrollably and he grabbed onto Sasuke wherever he could to try to ground himself, whether it was his forearms or his shoulders or even his wings, which made Sasuke grunt in pleasure. By the way Sasuke was gripping his hips, he was in the same position.

When Naruto finally couldn’t take it anymore, Sasuke finally began to slow, basking in the afterglow of his own pleasure. Naruto panted, seeing stars shoot across his vision as he tried to come down from the high.

“That was nice,” Sasuke said softly.

“That’s an understatement.”

Sasuke laughed as he laid next to Naruto, entrapping him in his embrace once more. Naruto sighed as he turned, laying his head on Sasuke’s chest and listening to the slowing beat of his heart.

“It’s kind of weird that you have a heartbeat, Sasuke.”

“Wouldn’t it be weirder if I didn’t?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Naruto traced the indents between Sasuke’s strong, pronounced muscles on his torso, wondering if it was really that much physical effort to harvest souls. “What… will happen to us?” he finally voiced the concern that was eating at him for the past week, not knowing if he actually wanted the answer or not.

Sasuke turned more toward Naruto. “What do you mean?”

“You know. This won’t last forever. And as much as I hate to say it…” _Fuck, why did this hurt the way it did? “_ I’m just a tiny little blip in your timeline. Even if we stay together, what’s years to me is probably a few seconds to you.”

Sasuke was silent for a moment, as if to collect his thoughts.

“We’ll find each other again.”

“How do you know?” Naruto said skeptically. “Have you ever seen anyone be reincarnated?”

“No,” Sasuke admitted. “But… I wasn’t always this way.”

“Wait, what?” Naruto sat up a bit to look at Sasuke. “What do you mean?”

“A long time ago, I was like you. I can’t really remember much, but I know I lived in Japan. And when I think back on my time there… the only thing I remember is my best friend. He looked like the sun. Kind of the same way you do.”

Naruto laughed. “That must’ve been a long time ago. What were you, a ninja or something?”

Sasuke shrugged. “Maybe. But I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. It feels like… you’re an old friend. Like we’ve known each other for a lot longer than either of us remember.”

Naruto thought a bit. It did feel like he was talking to a lover from long ago, and the way their bodies moved in tandem perfectly and how they fit together as if they’d been together for eons… it made it all a little easier to believe.

“So you believe in reincarnation?”

“I don’t believe it. I know it. You’re the sun; that can’t be a coincidence.”

Naruto ran his hand up Sasuke’s side. “Even I that’s true… it’ll be a long time before I see you again.”

“You’re worth the wait. And this time, I’ll remember.”

“That doesn’t make it any less sad. Any version of me you encounter again, it’ll just be a tiny little blip in your life before I’m a memory again.”

“You’re not a memory yet.”

“Then what am I?”

“Someone that I’ve loved for a long time.”

Naruto buried his face in Sasuke’s chest. Partly to show his appreciation, and partly to hide just how much that one sentence touched him.

“Well, I hope I’m a good memory.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Sasuke reprimanded. “I’m here with you now, and I don’t intend on leaving. And if you leave, I’ll spy on you so I know where you are.”

“I’m not leaving either, dumbass.” Naruto rolled his eyes. “But I feel like I’ll think about this a lot. It’s still sad that each version of me is such a short memory. Anyone who loves someone else wants to make an impact, but our time is so short that I feel like I can’t.”

“You want to know how you can make an impact, Naruto?”

“How?”

Sasuke held Naruto even tighter, resting his chin on Naruto’s head. “Just live in the moment with me. It doesn’t matter where we are in a hundred years, as long as I’m here with you now.”

“I can be here with you now and still not be with you in a hundred years, Sasuke. That’s just reality.”

“Whether you’re with me or not, whatever version of you, I’ll still love you.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Well,” Naruto said, stifling a yawn, “laying here with you is enough for me then. But can you at least wait until I fall asleep to leave?”

“Always.”

Naruto smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around Sasuke, their bodies interlocked as if they were puzzle pieces.

The next morning, Naruto opened his eyes slowly, already feeling the pain of Sasuke’s absence. But then, when he stretched, his fingers brushed against something distinctly feathery. Naruto rolled over, and upon seeing the figure laying in bed next to him, smiled, and crushed himself to Sasuke.


End file.
